Set on fire while still alive

Marseille: Gang stabbed boy (15) 50 times

(Bild: APA/AFP/Philippe Huguen)

A 15-year-old was stabbed 50 times in the French port city of Marseille. The boy was then set on fire while still alive. The crime, which was committed on Wednesday, was obviously the result of drug-related violence, said public prosecutor Nicolas Bessone on Sunday.

At a press conference, Bessone spoke of "unprecedented cruelty". In the case, the victim was reportedly hired on an online network by a 23-year-old prison inmate. The inmate, who described himself as a member of a gang known as the DZ Mafia, had instructed the 15-year-old to intimidate a rival by setting fire to his front door.

Rival gang sets teenager on fire
The teenager was promised 2,000 euros in return. According to the public prosecutor's office, however, the 15-year-old was discovered by members of a rival gang. The gang members stabbed the boy repeatedly before setting him on fire, according to Bessone.

Gruesome act results in another death
According to the public prosecutor's office, the violent act resulted in another violent death. After the death of the 15-year-old, the same inmate who had carried out the first criminal mission had recruited a 14-year-old teenager to take revenge on a member of the so-called Blacks gang and kill him. The prisoner promised a "reward" of 50,000 euros.

The 14-year-old then hired a 36-year-old family man, who had nothing to do with drug-related crime, as a driver. When the father refused to wait for the teenager, the boy killed the man with a shot to the head. He used a pistol that he had with him.

Struggles for control of the drug trade
Marseille is the second largest and one of the poorest cities in France. Drug trafficking-related violence is a daily occurrence here. For a few years now, several gangs have been fighting for control of the lucrative drug trade. Prosecutor Bessone said that the perpetrators and victims of this violence are getting younger and younger.

With these two latest deaths, the number of violent deaths in Marseille linked to drug trafficking has risen to 17 since the beginning of the year, up from 49 the previous year.